Biography 

Claudia Adam holds a PhD in Geophysics from the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris (IPGP), which she earned in 2003, as well as a DEA (1999, IPGP) and a Master’s degree in Mechanics (1998, University of Paris XI). She has been an associate professor in the Department of Geology at Kansas State University since 2022, having previously served as an assistant professor (2016–2022) at the same institution. Previously, she worked as a researcher at Virginia Tech (2013–2016), at the Centro de Geofísica de Évora (Portugal, 2008–2013), and as a postdoctoral fellow at JAMSTEC (Japan, 2005–2008).

She specializes in the study of mantle plumes, continental stress fields, and lithospheric dynamics. Her current research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Chemical Society, focuses on the numerical modeling of the structure and dynamics of the lithospheric mantle in North America, using tomographic data. Her expertise spans numerical modeling, marine geophysics, and the analysis of the Earth’s deep structures.

Collaboration with LPENSL

Claudia Adam’s recent work, conducted in collaboration with Valérie Vidal and published in G3 (2022), has highlighted the influence of linear topographic features (oceanic ridges, hotspot chains) on arc volcanism. Thus, Claudia Adam’s visit has two main objectives:

• to develop analytical methods for processing geophysical data and obtaining relevant statistics, in order to identify the factors controlling the volume of arc volcanism;
• to integrate geochemical data (via the GeoRoc database and the literature) to understand how fracture zones influence volcanism. A recent theory suggests that serpentinites, formed by the hydrothermal alteration of peridotites, increase magma volume. However, a rigorous statistical analysis of geochemical data (B/Zr, B/La, Li/Y ratios, etc.) is necessary to validate or refute this hypothesis.

Claudia Adam’s visit will help strengthen the interdisciplinary collaboration between physics and geosciences within the laboratory. She will bring complementary expertise in data processing and modeling, while fostering inter-laboratory exchanges through an open lecture. This visit will thus help deepen our understanding of arc volcanism mechanisms and develop innovative statistical tools for the analysis of geophysical and geochemical data.

Major publications

• P.D. Kempton, C. Adam, A.D. Saunders, T. Barry, “Temporal variations of the oldest Emperor-Hawaiian plume signature
  influenced by interaction with shallow mantle features, accepted to Geochem”. Geophys. Geosyst., May 2025
• Patton E., C. Adam, D. R. Steward, S. Datta, (2023), “Effect of low-permeability layers on vadose well recharge rates,
  Groundwater for Sustainable”. Development 21, 100938
• Adam, C., Vidal, V., Grosse, P., & Ichihara, M. (2022). “Correlations between subduction of linear oceanic features and arc
  volcanism volume around the Pacific basin”. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 23, e2022GC010553. 
• Adam C., Smith, M. N., Kempton, P. D., and Brueseke, M. (2022). “Temporal evolution of the swell and magmatic fluxes along
  the Louisville hotspot chain”. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 23, e2022GC010568. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GC010568 
• Adam C., S. King, and M. Caddick (2021), “Mantle temperature and density anomalies: the influence of thermodynamic
  formulation, melt, and anelasticity”, Physics of the Earth and Planet. Int., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2021.106772